The Right Man: The Surprise Presidency of George W. Bush
By David Frum
Random House
HC, 384 pgs. US$25.95
ISBN: 0-3755-0903-8
The Right Man At The Right Time
By Carol Devine-Molin
web posted February 3, 2003
David Frum's bestseller, "The Right Man" is not a behind-the-
scenes exposé of the George W. Bush White House - if that was
what you were expecting, you can save your money. Rather than
tabloid fodder, this tome is an insightful, but clearly deferential,
examination of Bush's character and ideas that are cogently
shaping his presidency. Sure, Frum was a Bush speechwriter for
only a year, but it was one heck of a year! The September 11th
"Day of Infamy" not only ignited a battle-royal against terrorism,
but revealed the true mettle of George W. Bush as resolute
world leader confronting an unparalleled threat. As Frum notes,
"George W. Bush was hardly the obvious man for the job. But
by a very strange fate, he turned out to be, of all unlikely things,
the right man".
The overarching message of Frum's book is twofold: a)
character is key, from which all else flows, and, b) the US is
blessed with proper and moral leadership with President George
W. Bush at the helm during these crisis times. Most Americans
accurately sense that Bush is a good and honest man who has
the courage of his convictions despite myriad vitriolic attacks by
naysayers. Bush projects as pure Americana, the quintessential
tough guy holding his emotions in check just beneath the surface.
As Frum rightly observes, "Bush was (and still is) hopeless at
faking emotion". Thank heavens, Bush is not a lip-biting phony
that manipulatively turns on and off the tears in a Clintonesque
manner.
But it was much more than the superficial aspects of Bill Clinton's
personality that Republicans, and others from a variety of
political stripes, found abhorrent in our prior president. The GOP
base was particularly offended by Clinton who left an unseemly
dirty bathtub ring of immorality as he left the oval office -- given
his history of sexual indiscretions, habitual lying, scandal-ridden
pardons, etc. Unquestionably, Republicans yearned for a leader
who would restore the honor and dignity of the presidency, and
they found that in George W. Bush, who was widely viewed as
the anti-Clinton or as the author asserts, the "Un-Clinton". Frum
rightly states, "Bush's base liked his tax-cut plan. They supported
him on missile defense, on Social Security reform, on faith-based
charities, even if less enthusiastically on education. But what they
most wanted from him was something much simpler: They
wanted him NOT to be Clinton."
Bush, in fact, is a very spiritual and religious man, and his
Evangelical Christian faith permeates the culture of the White
House. The Bush team "lives clean", according to Frum, and is
almost totally comprised of Bible-believing Christians. The
author was amazed by the modern culture of Evangelicalism: "To
understand the Bush White House, you must understand its
predominant creed. It was a kindly faith, practical and
unmystical. It had absorbed a surprising amount of the culture of
the non-evangelical world around it -- feminism, country-rock
music, psychotherapy, even permissive child rearing". Frum, who
described himself as a "not especially observant Jew", found that
he was a stricter parent than most of his Evangelical co-workers
at the Bush White House. Although Frum got along well with his
Christian colleagues, he offered up some interesting insights
regarding the mindset of Jews toward Bible-believing Christians.
Despite the fact that the Bush administration is staunchly pro-
Israel, many Jews are more than leery of Bush's evangelical
religiosity, they are out-and-out intimidated by it. Frum notes that
the "American Jewish Community is so terrified of non-Jewish
religiosity that any reference to God by a non-Jew, no matter
how friendly the intent, unnerves them". Obviously, the GOP
needs to be cognizant of these sensitivities as we outreach to the
Jewish community.
In the wake of September 11th, Frum notes that, "It will
someday be difficult to describe to people who did not live
through the 9/11 attacks of the blood-red fury that swept the
country in the days afterwards…Bush's great gift to the country
was his calm and self-restraint". Frum describes President Bush's
National Cathedral speech as "flawless", as he spoke of the evil
ones that waged war against us "by stealth and deceit and
murder", and which reflects the advent of the "new Bush". Up in
New York City that same day, Bush connected with the
firefighters and volunteers at Ground Zero in an unforgettable,
emotionally-charged atmosphere, almost transcendent in nature.
With bullhorn in hand and a retired firefighter at his side, Bush
told the crowd, "I can hear you, the rest of the world hears you.
And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all
of us soon". The crowd kept roaring "USA!, USA!, USA!" -
which was a riveting moment playing out over the airwaves for
the entire nation to see.
President Bush was not the only dignitary to make memorable
comments that day. As the motorcade of Mayor Giuliani,
Governor Pataki, and President Bush made its way from the
Wall Street heliport to Ground Zero, they were met all along the
short route by ebullient rescue workers, policeman, firefighters,
and medics who were cheering wildly in support of their leaders.
Frum notes that Giuliani pointed out the window of the limousine
at the crowd, saying to Bush: "You see those people cheering for
you? Not one of them voted for you". It was truly an amazing
day in the history of New York City, which is ordinarily a
bastion of liberalism and Democratic partisanship.
"The Right Man" is a terrific insider's account of the Bush White
House. I would highly recommend it.
Carol Devine-Molin is a regular contributor to several online
magazines.
Enter Stage Right -- http://www.enterstageright.com